California is poised to become the first U.S. state to set standards for testing and remediation for smoke contamination from wildfires, with a pair of bills passed Monday.
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California passes wildfire safety standards as Democrats kill bill holding utilities accountable
I wrote this down: California became the first state to pass wildfire safety standards, and at the same time, Democrats killed the bill that would hold utility companies accountable for starting wildfires. The word I keep coming back to is 'standards.' On the one hand, the state says it’s raising the bar for safety. On the other, the mechanism for accountability—penalizing utilities—doesn’t make it onto the books. If I put this on the kitchen table, it’s like installing a smoke detector but never checking if the wiring is safe. Excuse me, before you go: if the standards are enforced but the accountability is optional, who’s protected—the homeowners, or the shareholders?
“They set new wildfire safety standards but block the bill that would hold the companies starting fires accountable. The rules are for the folks with hoses, not the ones with invoices.”
“California is making progress on wildfire safety, and standards are a big step. Accountability is complicated—if you penalize utilities too harshly, you risk disrupting service. Did I say kill the bill? I meant it’s on pause. The system works.”
The receipts
California Democrats are giving an 11th hour reprieve to utility companies responsible for deadly wildfires across the state.
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.